Subject 13's Butler: Faith In Oneself
by AoUsagi
Summary: Aiden Frost isn't a great believer. He follows orders, but on one particular evening, ends up going in over his head when he comes face to face with Finnian McInnes. And yet it's simply an old man's kind words that give him the faith to keep going. Subject 13's Butler side-story written for Cielshadow17


-:- **Subject 13's Butler:** -:-

_Faith In Oneself_  
.:_A Subject 13's Butler side-story dedicated to __**Cielshadow17**__:._

The job, apparently, was a simple one.

Or, in this case, as simple as a complex maze of endless possibilities could be. Aiden was still trying to wrap his head around what little information his boss had given him – as it turned out, the opium smoking idiot barely had any clue of what was going on himself. How the cheery, delirious Chinese gang leader managed to accomplish anything was a mystery to Aiden, but he had his orders – and he had his loyalties.

He just wished, sometimes, that they weren't to Lau.

He pulled over, parking the car in a fairly empty lot; the evening was waning, and the night was beginning to set in. Late afternoon shoppers were milling around, the crowds beginning to lessen and thin – soon there'd be next to no one here. Good. He preferred to conduct his missions when there weren't so many people around. They had a bad tendency to get in the way, and when that happened, they tended to end up dead.

On the thought of death, Aiden checked his handgun, tucked safely into the holster on his belt, making sure the safety was on before he exited the vehicle. The parking lot was relatively empty, what few cars there were were parked up closer to the front entrance of the main plaza. Heading inside, the mild afternoon air was immediately cut and changed to the cool blasting of a high-powered air conditioner, and he could feel goosebumps prickling over his skin.

As he cast his eyes around he pulled out his phone, flipping it open so he could just the photo he'd been sent. As an informant and messenger, he was occasionally dragged in to do scout work as well; and this was one of those times. A tip had come in through Lau's network of spies; someone had seen one of the infamous Phantomhive group in the area, heading towards this plaza. So Lau had sent Aiden Frost, an expendable intel agent, to check it out. So here he was. Who was he looking for? Some blonde haired kid, apparently. He glanced down at his phone – yup, it was the kid of the group all right; not as young as the Phantomhive boy himself, but the blonde intern, his name coming up as 'McInnes' at the top of the screen, couldn't have been much older than Aiden himself. Of course, Aiden has stopped thinking of himself as a kid a long time ago. You grew up fast on the streets, and he was no exception.

Entering the plaza, he stepped from the slightly warmer outdoor temperature straight into the cooler, air-conditioned shopping centre. It wasn't as if the temperature had been terribly hot outside – the summer was giving way to autumn quite quickly, and the days were beginning to cool. But it was still refreshing to be somewhere out of the open. He glanced at his phone again, before looking around.

The damn kid could be anywhere.

He stalked around the main plaza, scouting out the halls and small side shops before tackling the larger, main stores. Novelty shops, florists, jewellers, a DVD store, a bakery and an ice-cream parlour. None of them really seemed like the kind of place he'd find the kid he was after, but he scoped each and every one of them out all the same.

Aiden made his way into a large grocery store, and began to scan the aisles – if the kid wasn't here, then he'd passed through the plaza and gone out through another exit. There was nowhere else he _could_ be, and the thought of letting down his boss was a daunting one indeed. In this case, his boss may be Lau, but Lau would hand him off to answer to Vincent Phantomhive. And Vincent Phantomhive was not the sort of man Aiden had any interest in disappointing.

Five aisles down and nothing. Hitting the pasta and rice aisle, Aiden barely glanced down it as he mooched passed – only to double take at the sight of the blonde mop of hair highlighted by a couple of red hairpins.

_There he is._

It was the McInnes kid all right – the boy was wearing a plaid jacket over the top of a plain shirt and pair of jeans with the cuffs rolled up. He was pushing a trolley with a couple of various items already stacked in it – items that he seemed to be selecting quite meticulously. Aiden scooted back behind a stand to watch him, idling as inconspicuously as he could while pretending to read a health food magazine. The boy would take an item from the shelf, comb through the descriptions on the products packaging, then compare it to a similar item of a different brand. He'd compare the prices, the weights, the ingredients – it was as if the lad were after something so particular, in the end he'd either sigh and put one of the items into his cart and place the other back or he'd put both back and move on. Aiden raised an eyebrow at the odd way the boy conducted himself. It was almost like a weird, repetitive habit the boy had – the agent watched him go through the same process with three more items before leaving the aisle and moving on to the next.

Once the McInnes boy had disappeared around the corner, Aiden quickly re-shelved the magazine haphazardly and moved after him – trying to make it appear to anyone watching him that he had suddenly found a keen interest in a range of packeted ready-to-make rice dishes. In actual fact, he was peering through the shelving into the next aisle, where he could see the McInnes boy looking over a small shopping list in one hand as he wheeled along the trolley in front of him with the other. The boy would stop once or twice, look around at the labelling on the shelves, and then keep moving. Aiden sidled quietly after him.

Three more aisles and suddenly the McInnes boy disappeared – Aiden rounded a corner only to find the aisle the boy would have come down completely empty. Doubling back, Aiden almost was almost knocked flat on his back as someone rammed a trolley right into him.

Before he could recover, someone had grabbed him by the lapels and dragged him into a staff-only area in the dairy section; someone who, as far as he could tell, was ridiculously strong for their size. He was slammed back against the wall, and once his head stopped spinning and he could see straight again, he realized who his captor was.

"Aw shit."

"Who are you?" Finnian McInnes growled, his voice low and his eyes sharp. "Why were you following me?"

Aiden struggled against the boy's iron grip, and when he kicked out he found the boy's knee coming up and into his groin – with a gasp and a groan, the pain made him stagger and he felt all his muscles go weak.

"Tell me!" the blonde intern shook him roughly, and Aiden could see that the boy's anger was fuelled by fear. Maybe there was a way to save himself from this mess after all.

"Listen kid let me go," he squirmed against McInnes' hold on him again, before looking the boy dead in the eye. "Don't wanna be taken away from your precious _Phantomhive_ boy now, do ya?"

Finnian's grip immediately lessened as his eyes went wide, but he rallied quickly, shoving Aiden back against the wall again, the metallic walls rattling.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Don't wanna go back where you're unwanted, do ya?" Aiden grunted, remembering what he'd briefly read from Finnian's file. _Suffers from abandonment. _He didn't know the whole story of the boy's background but there was a chance he could push the right buttons and get himself out of this. "Bet you the kid makes you feel _important, _huh? Like you're _needed_."

"Shuttup!" Finni cried, but there was an unmistakable tremble in his voice. "I don't care who you are, you're not getting your hands on Ciel!"

Aiden grinned against the pressure of the boy's fists balled up in his shirt against his sternum. "Yeah but who're you to say that if you're not there to protect him?"

Why was he blackmailing the kid when he should be more interested in getting information out of him? Oh yes, that's right, because he was the one backed up against the wall. He could turn these tides – he could see uncertainty in the interns eyes.

Finnian went to speak again, but his voice was cracked, wavering – and Aiden took the opportunity to twist and heave the boy around – in the boy's moment of weakness, Aiden had him crashing against the wall and falling to the concrete floor. Aiden took a breath and stepped back, the intern already scrambling to get to his feet.

"Tell me where the Phantomhive kid is," Aiden said, grabbing a fistful of McInnes' hair and twisting it roughly. Finnian yelped and winced, grabbing at Aiden's hands and clawing at his grip uselessly. "_Tell me._"

Finnian stopped writhing for a moment to look him in the face. "No." he growled, when there was suddenly a voice from behind them.

"Oi!" a staff member was heading towards them from across the milk room floor. "You're not allowed to be here! What're you doin' out here?"

While Aiden had turned to see the man striding towards them, McInnes had shoved him hard and Aiden went down on his arse with an _oomph_. McInnes scrambled up and ran – heading out into the grocery store again, grabbing his trolley and heading away like a bolt of lightning. Before Aiden had a chance to go after him, the staff member had grabbed him by the collar.

"I reckon you got some explainin' t'do, mister."

**-:-**

Explaining himself to the manager of the grocery store had not been fun. Nearly and hour of being grilled about what he was doing in a staff only area, who the boy had been – by the end of it, Aiden was thankful to be leaving and stepping out of the plaza into the fresh evening air. He barely even care anymore that the McInnes kid had blown his cover and that the kid had even managed to get away from him. All that mattered was that he wasn't stuck in that stuffy manager's office anymore.

Heading back to his car, he paused before opening the door, checking his reflection in the window. The boy had managed to give his windpipe and decent bruising, that was for sure.

"What did you really want?"

Aiden whirled around – Finnian McInnes was the last person he expected to see standing just metres away from him, beside a small car. And yet there he was, arms folded as he leant against the car, watching him with those piercing azure eyes of his.

"It wasn't really about me, was it?" Finnian asked slowly, the evening breeze ruffling his blonde locks, his red hairpins holding his fringe away from his face. "You're after Ciel."

"No kid." Aiden replied, not in the mood for another beating. "I was after information."

"Stay away from us!" Finni yelled as Aiden turned his back on him. Aiden shooks his head with a sigh – he'd been an idiot to risk contact with the boy. His orders had been simple. Locate the boy and analyse him. Not have a run-in with him, and it was clear to Aiden that he was in way over his head. He'd be an idiot to try and confront McInnes again; the bruise on his collarbone made that obvious.

"Oh trust me, I'm planning on it." he muttered as he pulled open the car door and slid into the drivers seat. He started the engine and rolled down the window and glanced Finnian's way as he buckled his seatbelt. "Oi kid."

Finnian's gaze hadn't moved from him, and he lifted his chin to Aiden as a sign of curious acknowledgement.

"Keep the kid safe. You're strength is what'll really keep him safe and protected." Aiden said before putting the car into reverse. "Until it's time for us to make our move."

The boy's eyebrows raised. "What's that supposed to mean?" he called, and Aiden smirked grimly at the note of fear in his voice.

"You'll know, when it's time." Aiden replied before rolling up his window and putting the car into reverse.

It wasn't his place to go any further. He had to report back to Lau, after all – and from there, Vincent Phantomhive would make any decisions. Aiden had no interest in getting into any more than he had to around the McInnes boy – the kid was tough, but at least he was fiercely loyal to Vincent's son.

That'd have to be enough for now, he thought to himself, as he glanced in his rearview mirror as he drove away to the car lot's exit – he caught sight of Finnian McInnes still watching him, ensuring he left. _No need to tell me twice_.

**-:-**

"You let him get _away_?!"

Vincent's voice echoed throughout the opium den, and Aiden stepped back a little as the Watchdog spun around and roared with frustration, his hand catching and swiping a pile of papers clean off the desk that stood between them. Paper showered through the air, an angry swirl of white.

Lau, who was sitting off to one side on a pile of embroided cushions, was smiling quietly to himself.

"I'm sorry, sir," Aiden bowed his head, fearing the wrath in Vincent's eyes. "But McInnes is very strong – he would have easily escaped me if I'd tried to approach him with violence."

Vincent Phantomhive groaned allowed and slammed a fist against the brick wall, before taking several long, deep breaths. "No, no, you're right." he said, clearing trying to calm himself. "Violence isn't the answer."

"Why of course it's not," Lau mused with a chuckle. "After all, my orders were to watch the boy from a distance. Analyse what he was doing and collect information, wasn't it, my boy?"

Swallowing hard, Aiden nodded as he felt Lau's eyes rest on him.

"Y-yes, sir."

"Then he's done as he was told, right?" Lau turned to Vincent, who narrowed his eyes and glared at the opium-smoking idiot.

"...Of _course,_" the Watchdog growled.

"S-sir," Aiden said meekly. "Your son...he's in good hands."

Vincent's eyes flicked up to him at the mention of Ciel.

"The McInnes boy is strong – he'll protect Ciel against anything that happens to him. I can tell."

"Your input is uncalled for, Frost," Vincent's words dripped with ice, however, they softened with his sigh. "But...they are appreciated. You're dismissed."

Aiden bowed to Vincent, before turning to Lau.

"Sir?"

Lau raised an eyebrow to him, taking a long drag on his hookah. When he exhaled, he blew out a plume of bluish smoke from between his lips, which curled into a smile.

"Yes, yes, on your way," he chirped, sounding a little delirious, and he waved a hand Aiden's way, barely giving him a second glance as he turned his attention back to Vincent. Aiden left the small underground office, ignoring the words passed between Watchdog and Chinaman as the door shut behind him.

He sighed, feeling the weight of the anxiety lift a little from his chest; in all fairness, that could have gone so much worse. However it hadn't – Lau had basically bailed him out of getting his arse handed to him on a silver platter by Vincent, but something lodged in Aiden's throat – Lau had barely acknowledged him. He was just another pawn among those in power.

Aiden pushed the thoughts away as he stroke out into the main opium den's lair, heading down the main corridor and ignoring the smoking delinquents that lounged around on cushions on either side of him, smoking their lives away. He made his way up the stairs and out into the back-streets of the East End. The rest of the night was his.

Planning on going home and taking a long hot shower to ease the soreness of his bruises, Aiden was met at the end of the alleyway by the sleek black sedan that belonged to Vincent Phantomhive that was parked in a street-side bay. Standing by the car's side was Mister Tanaka, the elderly Englishman who served as Vincent's butler and manservant.

"Good evening, Mister Frost," Tanaka greeted him cheerfully, the wrinkles around the old man's eyes crinkling up as he smiled and gave Aiden a small bow in respect. Aiden was a little taken aback – he'd never really had much contact with Tanaka before, but he returned the gesture out of courtesy. The old man might be old, but he was still a Phantomhive servant, and that made him powerful.

"Evenin', sir," Aiden replied with a sigh, before nodding to the car. "Waitin' for the Watchdog?"

"Indeed I am," the elderly gentleman smiled. "On your way out?"

"Yessir," he shoved his hands into his pockets against the chill of the night air, and dipped his brow to Tanaka before turning. "Heading home."

"Ah, I see."

It was something in Tanaka's tone that made him pause – a knowing, understanding. Tanaka was waiting to escort Vincent Phantomhive back to the hideout where the rest of the Watchdog's team had gathered. There was almost a hint of envy in those words, too. Aiden turned back.

"You missing home, Mr Tanaka?"

Tanaka's eyes widened a little, his greying brows lifting. "Oh? No, no, Mr Frost. You see, my home is wherever Master Phantomhive is." the old man let out a sigh. "Though my heart aches for him, to find his home once more."

"Mr Lau says that the Phantomhives' are native to England, yet they moved overseas when their son died. How come?" Aiden found himself asking, the curiosity getting the better of him. It wasn't as if Lau had ever really given any of his lackeys any details.

"Well Mr Lau is correct; the Phantomhive's were once very prominent figures in England. Well known in many circles. They left after young Master Ciel's death, or as we know it now, faked death, when Lady Phantomhive could not bear to be here any more."

Aiden shifted his weight from one hip to the other. "Oh? She didn't cope very well, huh?"

"The mistress is a strong woman, but her family is her world," Tanaka nodded. "When they received news of their sons supposed death, it changed her dramatically. It was all we could do to keep her alive, she was so stricken with grief."

"Huh. And now?"

"She remains in the Phantomhive's new home in America, whilst Master Phantomhive has come back to search for Ciel."

Aiden nodded along, and there was a pause, and he watched Tanaka gaze thoughtfully up at the darkened sky above them.

"You think they'll really find him?"

Tanaka looked back at him, and then nodded.

"I have every faith in my master; never once has he ever let anything get the better of him without a fight."

"That's a lot of faith."

"I've had years of practice, young man."

Aiden smirked and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess." he shuffled his feet, then looked back to Tanaka. "Well, I'm going to head home."

Tanaka gave him a kind, wizened smile. "Go safely, Mr Frost. And take care of yourself."

Aiden waved over his shoulder as he headed down the footpath, sighing to himself. Tanaka's last words reminded him of what he'd said to the McInnes boy earlier that evening – to take care of Ciel. After all, he thought, if he didn't believe that the boy would heed his words, why did he even bother to say them?

Now, he supposed, all he needed was a little faith himself.

**-:-**

* * *

_**AfterNote:**_

Phew. man it only took me forever and a day to get this done (actually i have the first few paragraphs down about two months ago, but because time is a slippery thing and homework and study dragged me down such a slippery slope i really only sat down today and yesterday to finish it) (while procrastinating over other homework, of course ;A;)

ANYWAY. i hope you like it, **Cielshadow17**!

- Mercy


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